2018/12/27 by Paul Whiteley, Mónica Poletti, Paul Webb +1 · 1 voice · 6 citations
Social Sciences · #Electoral Systems and Political Participation #Political and Economic history of UK and US #Social and Cultural Dynamics
paper · pdf · doi:10.1177/1369148118815408
openalex publication_date 2018/12/27 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/02
This article investigates the remarkable surge in individual membership of the Labour Party after the general election of May 2015, particularly after Jeremy Corbyn was officially nominated as a candidate for the leadership in June of that year. Using both British Election Study and Party Members Project data, we explain the surge by focussing on the attitudinal, ideological and demographic characteristics of the members themselves. Findings suggest that, along with support for the leader and yearning for a new style of politics, feelings of relative deprivation played a significant part: many ‘left-behind’ voters (some well-educated, some less so) joined Labour for the first time when a candidate with a clearly radical profile appeared on the leadership ballot. Anti-capitalist and left-wing values mattered too, particularly for those former members who decided to return to the party.